🐄 Holy Cow

Why did the cow cross the road?

A stretch of interstate 95 in South Carolina was recently closed for ten hours due to an overturned truck. 

The vehicle was carrying over 35 cows who then went wandering into nearby neighborhoods.

Although the truck ran off the road and caught fire, the driver made it out alive. 

Police spent the remainder of the day playing cowboy, rounding up the rogue animals on horseback. 

How's that for a moo-ving story?

- Team Advisorist

In Today’s Issue 👇️ 

• The power of client profiles

• Ways to cope with a bad month

• Stats on Baby Boomers and Social Security

👨🏼‍💻 Why You Need Client Profiles

Did you know that two thirds of all prospects advisors meet don't become clients? Looking for a way to up your conversion rate? Enter: the total client profile.

A total client profile is made up of insights you gather on a prospect through the discovery process. You'll ask them a series of questions designed to help you get to know them better than your competition.

Sure, you'll uncover financial information, but you'll also go deeper. You'll connect with them on an emotional level so they can relate to you on a personal level. 💡

When trust is established, you can then work on developing a successful, long-term relationship.

Your total client profile will also help you make highly customized recommendations and deliver on a client's top concerns. 

Far better than a cookie-cutter approach, right? 💯

How do you build a solid profile? Include these top values and questions during your discovery process:

• Values: "When it comes to your money, what's truly important to you? What values are underneath your key financial decisions? What keeps you up at night?"

• Goals: "What do you want to achieve with your money in the long run? What past achievements are you the most proud of?"

• Relationships: "Who are the most important people in your life?"

• Assets: "Where are your assets currently held? What do you own and what are your liabilities?"

• Advisors: "Who do you turn to for advice? Are you satisfied with your current professional relationships?"

• Process: "How do you prefer to work with advisors? How involved do you like to be in managing your finances?"

• Interests: "What are your passions outside of work? What are your hobbies? What organizations do you belong to?"

While there's no hard and fast rule for how you collect and store this information, using a mind mapping tool (like MindMup) is recommended. 

Your total client profile then becomes a visual aid that will impress prospects and help you turn them into clients. ✅

Headline Roundup

🏠 Affecting Your Clients

• Mortgage Rates Rise on Higher Inflation, Dimmed Rate Cut Hopes [Y!]

• Amid FAFSA Issues, Students Should Appeal for More Financial Aid [CNBC]

• Target Creates Its Cheapest In-Store Brand [CNN]

📈 Markets & Economy 

• Jobless Claims Fall to One-Month Low of 212,000 [MW]

• Retail Sales Post Steepest Decline Since March 2023 [Y!]

• Nvidia Overtakes Alphabet as 3rd Most Valuable US Company [BI]

💼 Industry Roundup 

• Treasury Proposes Anti-Money Laundering Rule for FAs [IN]

• Morgan Stanley to Cut Several Hundred Jobs in Wealth Unit [TA]

• 2024 Insurance Outlook is Positive, Despite Uncertain Environment [INN]

🌧️ Shaking Off a Bad Month

Let's face it, bad months happen to the best of us. Your phone went silent, no one's responding to your emails, and all of your hot leads went cold.

Bad months can happen for a number of reasons, but here are some of the most common: 

• Your pipeline management isn't great. If you don't have a system in place, it's easy to lose track of who you've spoken to. When you lose track, you don't follow up.

• You're not doing enough research on prospects. If you don't know enough about their needs and goals, you'll have trouble closing. 

• We're in a tough cycle. Recessions and economic downturns can put a damper on sales efforts.

• Your marketing strategy is out of alignment. Maybe you're not targeting the right audience or your message is falling flat. 

The good news is that you can rebound quickly from a bad month by getting honest with what went wrong and staying positive. 

Use these tips to pull yourself out of a slump:

• Control what you can. You can't control who picks up the phone, but you can control how many calls you make in a day. You can also control how honestly you review your mistakes and make it a point to course correct.

• Check your data. Keeping the facts front and center helps keep emotions at bay. If you record your calls, listen back to them to see if you need to change your approach. Look at your conversion rates over time and identify trends.

• Be proactive. Sitting back and waiting for things to get better is a waste of time. Step up your game and make those extra calls. Add new technology into your practice to stay organized. 

• Stay disciplined. You won't turn a bad month around overnight, so dig in and find the mental strength to keep going. Stay optimistic about the future, knowing that consistent effort always eventually pays off.

Above all else, keep your head up! Don't let one bad month ruin your entire year. You got this, champ. 🌟

🗓️ Upcoming Industry Event Calendar

Feb 20-22: The Advyzon Conference

Feb 28-Mar 1: LLIS Insurance Academy 2024

Mar 5: RIA Masterclass

🧮 By the Numbers

11,200

That's the number of Baby Boomers turning 65, or the Social Security retirement age, every day over the next several years. 

However, 65 won't be the full Social Security age for all Boomers. Changes made back in 1983 gradually pushed the age to 67 over a 40-year period.

Those who put off claiming Social Security retirement benefits until age 70 stand to get the biggest benefit payments.

✌️Good Vibes

While at her local recycling plant, Melanie Harper's wedding ring slipped off and fell into the bins as she was sorting. 

With low expectations, Harper emailed her city's public works department, asking for help in retrieving the jewelry. 

To her pleasant surprise, employees overturned the entire bin and began sifting.

After hours of searching, one employee discovered the ring. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.

The best part? The last name of the man who made the lucky discovery was Golden! 🤩💍

Sharing looks good on you.

When you copy that link at the bottom and share it with a few financial planning colleagues, you look like the smartest advisor in the room by keeping them informed.

Plus, you earn rewards. Sweet.